What is your educational background?
I have a B.S. in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education and a Masters of Education in Curriculum and Instruction and Reading Education from the University of Nebraska at Lincoln (UN-L).

What other experiences, or staff development have prepared you for inclusion?
I have taken two special education courses through UN-L, but most of my inclusive training has been on the job.

What is your job role?
Head Start teacher.

What is your role regarding the inclusive component of the program?
I team teach with an early childhood special education teacher. We keep all our children together in one room. We act as one class with two teachers.

How has your role changed or have you adapted your role as it relates to the inclusive program?
I feel more comfortable serving children with special needs now and therefore have taken greater responsibility for meeting their educational needs as outlined in their IEP's.

What were your biggest concerns about participating in an inclusive program?
That I would be inadequate and ineffective in my interactions with children who had special needs. I feared I would be unable to support colleagues as they worked with more challenging children.

What were your experiences related to these concerns once inclusive services were implemented?
Inclusive environments provide wonderful opportunities for staff to grow and learn together. I had undervalued myself and did not realize that, while I had so much to learn, I also have a lot to share.

What do you see as the benefits of moving toward inclusive services?
All children, regardless of ability, play and work together in the same educational setting.

Children who are identified throughout the school year do not have to transition to an ECSE classroom.

Staff members can rely on each other's expertise daily.

Can you offer one or more anecdotes that you feel illustrate the benefits of inclusion?
One of the first years Nancy and I worked together, we had a little guy who came to us in a wheel chair. He was taking some beginning steps at home but the children at school had not seen him walk. One day, after a lengthy break from school, this child took his first (wobbly) step into our classroom. The other children were already seated for snack and as Dillon walked in, one child said, "Dillon is walking!" The other children spontaneously broke into applause.